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Greatest Athlete of All Time

Crovax said:
I think everyone sees, your football ignorance is on full display
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Read what I wrote about Joe. Maybe you'll get it.
 
calamity said:
Read what I wrote about Joe. Maybe you'll get it.
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I’ve read it and it’s still just as ignorant as when you wrote it. The semantics between an nfl championship and a super bowl are meaningless. Joe wasn’t the first to win with the pass nor did he change the way the NFL was played with the pass. Joe Walsh’s west coast offense was just a rip off of Air Coryell with better players.
 
Crovax said:
I’ve read it and it’s still just as ignorant as when you wrote it. The semantics between an nfl championship and a super bowl are meaningless. Joe wasn’t the first to win with the pass nor did he change the way the NFL was played with the pass. Joe Walsh’swest coast offense was just a rip off of Air Coryell with better players.
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:rofl: Just realized, I meant Bill Walsh
 
Crovax said:
I’ve read it and it’s still just as ignorant as when you wrote it. The semantics between an nfl championship and a super bowl are meaningless. Joe wasn’t the first to win with the pass nor did he change the way the NFL was played with the pass. Joe Walsh’s west coast offense was just a rip off of Air Coryell with better players.
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You do realize this thread is just a light hearted opinion thing. Right?

Actually Dan Fauts and Air C came to mind as I wrote that. But, they never won much of anything. Only Joe, Brady, Bradshaw, Kelly and Elway led teams who won and/or at least went to 4 or more Super Bowls. And, as we all know, the argument for best QB really just comes down to two guys: Joe and Tom. I chose to make a case for Joe.

If Kelly had only won, he'd be best because no one else has gone to four straight.

The best passing QB ever may actually be that guy who played for Cleveland in the 50's. But he's so obscure, I totally forgot his name---ah, Otto Graham.
 
Depends on your age/sport of preference. Ali will become a trivial pursuit answer just like Babe Ruth as those who actually lived during his time pass. Same with almost all others.
But it also depend son what sport you look at, the OP dismisses soccer but worldwide it is a larger sport than any of those he mentioned, thus Beckham and Ronaldo should be included. GP racing (cars and motocycles) is huge in Europe I would suggest Valentino Rossi as a strong contender. Rugby, Lomu cannot be dismissed. Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku etc. etc.
As to athletic ability Jordan beats Ali for me as he did manage to play professionally in 2 different sports even if his time in baseball was short lived and unremarkable.
 
Quag said:
Depends on your age/sport of preference. Ali will become a trivial pursuit answer just like Babe Ruth as those who actually lived during his time pass. Same with almost all others.
But it also depend son what sport you look at, the OP dismisses soccer but worldwide it is a larger sport than any of those he mentioned, thus Beckham and Ronaldo should be included. GP racing (cars and motocycles) is huge in Europe I would suggest Valentino Rossi as a strong contender. Rugby, Lomu cannot be dismissed. Surfing, Duke Kahanamoku etc. etc.
As to athletic ability Jordan beats Ali for me as he did manage to play professionally in 2 different sports even if his time in baseball was short lived and unremarkable.
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i believe it was jordan's weak baseball showing which disqualifies him for contention as "greatest athlete"
 
justabubba said:
i believe it was jordan's weak baseball showing which disqualifies him for contention as "greatest athlete"
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It all depends on how you qualify "greatest."

Jordan transcended sport, like Ali.
Jordan is the only athlete to become a billionaire
Jordan is the only athlete to end up majority owner of a team in the sport he played.
Jordan was pretty ****ing awesome to see play his sport, perhaps the most awesome ever.

IMO, Ali nudges Mike for only two reasons. Ali was first, he did it at a time when Black icons rarely crossed the racial divide, and Ali was funny. Jordan is not funny. Dude is way too serious, in fact.
 
justabubba said:
i believe it was jordan's weak baseball showing which disqualifies him for contention as "greatest athlete"
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Weak is relative, he played professionally in 2 sports just not top level in 2 if you can name another athlete that was top level in 2 that would be very impressive. Most athletes never even get to professional level let alone the top professional level.
Shrug its all subjective though you cannot compare apples to orange and objectively say that watermelon is best.
 
calamity said:
It all depends on how you qualify "greatest."

Jordan transcended sport, like Ali.
Jordan is the only athlete to become a billionaire
Jordan is the only athlete to end up majority owner of a team in the sport he played.
Jordan was pretty ****ing awesome to see play his sport, perhaps the most awesome ever.

IMO, Ali nudges Mike for only two reasons. Ali was first, he did it at a time when Black icons rarely crossed the racial divide, and Ali was funny. Jordan is not funny. Dude is way too serious, in fact.
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Jordan isn't the only player to buy his team, Mario Lemieux bought the Penguins
 
Quag said:
Jordan isn't the only player to buy his team, Mario Lemieux bought the Penguins
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another charlottean is a former pro athlete who nows owns a team in the league in which he once played
that fellow is also a billionaire
jerry richardson
 
If I were to start a sports team but wasn't told which sport it would be, I would choose Deion Sanders. An all star in two sports, a World Series and Super Bowl winner, and even a great high school basketball player, he had more overall athletic talent and ability imo than Jordan, Ali, or Ruth. For example, he was a step below Jordan status as GOAT as a football player, but leaps and bounds better at baseball, and of course Jordan didn't play football.
 
JC Callender said:
If I were to start a sports team but wasn't told which sport it would be, I would choose Deion Sanders. An all star in two sports, a World Series and Super Bowl winner, and even a great high school basketball player, he had more overall athletic talent and ability imo than Jordan, Ali, or Ruth. For example, he was a step below Jordan status as GOAT as a football player, but leaps and bounds better at baseball, and of course Jordan didn't play football.
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I thought of Deion when people above were talking about Bo Jackson. Hell of an athlete....and entertaining to boot.
 
The finest 3 sport star IMO was Arnold Galiffa of Army. Galiffa from Donora Pa. Captain and All-State selection in football and
basketball in 1944-45 on teams that dominated their competition along with teammate & NFL Hall of Famer Deacon
Dan Towler becoming the first school to win WPIAL football and basketball titles in the same year. The 1945 team
outscored their opponents 297 to 13 with 8 shutouts. Those undefeated teams were also considered among the top
teams in the country and are still considered to be the best to ever play in Pennsylvania.

Then he preceded to quarterback Army to a 17-0-1 record in 48 & 49, Army was ranked 4th in the nation both years . In 49 he was 4th in
the Heisman voting in 49 to Leon Hart, Choo-choo Charley Justice & Doak Walker when he led Army to their last undefeated untied season.
Galiffa to this day is the only Army athlete to earn 11 letters in the 3 major sports. was drafted by the New York Giants in 1950, but had to
honor his commitment to the Army serving with distinction as an officer in the Korean War. Galiffa's outfit saw some fierce fighting in Korea
as more than half of his platoon were either wounded or killed in action. Galiffa would leave Korea after a serious case of frostbite.
Galiffa was captain of the Army Basketball team & as the star first-basemen on the baseball team he was put on the cover
bat in hand in LIFE Magazine in May of 1949.

I don't know if their was ever any 3 major sport athlete with such credentials. After serving 3 years in the Korean War though war frostbite
may have affected his unique abilities he played pro football briefly with the NY Giants & the San Francisco 49's. Galiffa held the record for
longest touchdown pass in NY Giants history for over 50 years till Eli Manning recently broke it.

Their were many great 2 major sports athletes Lou Boudreau, Dick Groat, Riggs Stephenson, Deion Sanders, Danny Ainge,
Jackie Robinson, Allan Iverson, Dave Winfield, Tony Gwynn & Bo Jackson to name a few but Arnold Galiffa deserves
mention as a 3 major sport star.
 
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calamity said:
No, worries. Tom Brady does not qualify. Why? You may ask. Well, because he didn't revolutionize the sport, nor did he carry it on his back, at all. He just road coattails as the league's popularity declined.

My Nominees:

Basketball: Michael Jordan. Who else? He brought the league from a has-been dope club, where top draft picks died from crack overdose and entire teams were on the DEA's radar. A sport playing their Championship games on tape delay became must see TV during the Jordan era. He also redefined the #2 guard position, both offensive and defensively.
Runners up: Bird and Magic. If those two were one dude, they would have won.

Baseball: Babe Ruth. He is baseball.
Runners up: No one, really.

Hockey: Gretzky. Closest competitor: Gordie, and it is close.

Golf: Tiger. Took the game to a whole new level. Next, Jack. Also a close 1-2.

Tennis: Williams, Serena.

Boxing: Ali...no one else even compares

Soccer: ? Seriously. ??

Ok, now. we'll look at Tom's sport.
Football: Joe Montana. Why? First guy to use the pass to win Superbowls. Brought the air to the game and made it fun. Before Joe, football was basically a running back's league, four yards and a cloud of dust. Now, we see QB's throw for 4000 yards, and no one even drafts a running back in the first round unless their name is Cleveland.
Runners up: Jim Brown. Yep, a running back. But, a really special one. Next, Jerry Rice. If not for Joe, he probably would be the guy credited with putting air in the ball.


GOAT of all GOATS? Tough call, but I go with Ali. No other fighter has ever been able to put boxing on a major TV network during primetime. No other athlete was as quickly recognized. No other athlete really compares....except maybe the Babe. But, that was before TV.
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So rename the thread 'Greatest US athlete of all time'.
 
Middleground said:
Still holds the record for the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont. With advanced technology years later, it was unofficially decided that he also holds the record for the Preakness. On the day he ran, the clock malfunctioned so the time recorded ended not being accurate. Despite the new knowledge, I believe they still use the malfunctioned time as the official time.
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IIRC his Belmont record is also the World Record for the 1 1/2 mile. Still is the 1 1/2 mile record.
 
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If we're talking great athletes and athleticism then IMO Bo Jackson deserves a mention.

Being great, not just good, but great at football and baseball is pretty damn impressive.
 
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